CHARACTERIZATION OF DOBRAVA VIRUS - A HANTAVIRUS FROM SLOVENIA, YUGOSLAVIA

Small mammals were collected in natural foci of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Slovenia, Yugoslavia, and a hantavirus was isolated from the lungs of an Apodemus flavicollis captured in Dobrava village. This new isolate, Dobrava virus, was compared with representative strains of the Hantavirus genus by serological and polymerase chain reaction-restriction, fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. It was found by cross immunofluorescent and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays that antigenic properties of Dobrava virus were different from those of other hantaviruses. The RNA of this virus was successfully amplified with hantavirus genus reactive primer sets by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR); however, PCR-RFLP analysis of the amplified product was shown to be unique among those of the known hantaviruses, further indicating that Dobrava virus represents a new hantavirus serotype.